Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Law Board announced Monday it is beginning the search for the next director of the Riley County Police Department. The job posting will go live next week, with the Law Board accepting applications starting May 24. Screening of applications will immediately follow the posting of the job and continue until the position is filled. Law Board Chair Linda Morse stated Monday that “experiences throughout the country in the last several years demonstrate the importance of carefully selecting the best person to lead the Riley County Police Department.” She says their goal is to hire someone respected and…

An arrest and formal charges are anticipated following an early Friday morning shooting along Kansas Highway 150 in Chase County. According to a release from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Chase County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call shortly after 6 a.m. from a man who reported a passenger in their vehicle had been shot. Deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers arrived a short time later and found a 33-year-old Emporia man suffering from a gunshot wound to his right hip. He was transported to Newman Regional Hospital in Emporia, where he was treated and released. After KBI agents…

Authorities have recovered the remains of a man who went missing almost two weeks ago at Milford Lake. Members of the Geary County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and the Geary County/Junction City Fire Department dive team, with the assistance of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Parks Division helped recover the remains of Jesse Paul Sockness, of Lawrence, after his body was seen floating in the water. Officials say the recovery was several hundred yards north of where he was suspected of going into the water. The incident is being investigated as an accidental drowning, pending autopsy results.…

Riley County health officials will continue to provide weekly COVID-19 updates on Fridays to align with KDHE’s weekly data dashboard updates. According to the latest report out Friday, May 13, Riley County recorded 37 COVID-19 cases between May 2-8. The Incidence Rate per 100,000 is 49.8, which places Riley County into the moderate incidence category. Moderate includes 10 to 49 cases per 100,000 people. Ascension Via Christi was caring for one COVID-19 positive patient as of Friday. The Office of Vital Statistics reported four additional COVID-19 related deaths for Riley County, bringing the pandemic total to 85. The deaths include…

The Riley County Police Department says it’s already fielded numerous calls from citizens concerned with large amounts of people drinking and parking in the water at Pillsbury Crossing, south of Manhattan. (Above video courtesy RCPD) According to a statement Friday on the RCPD Facebook page, at least one DUI arrest was made in the area Wednesday and officers will be continuing to respond to calls and proactively patrol the area. No alcohol is allowed in the area, per Riley County regulations approved in the 1990s. Police respond to a large number of accidents in the area each year, as it…

One person was killed Friday morning in a crash near St. George. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a northbound Chevy Malibu failed to yield at the stop sign at the intersection of Flush Road and Highway 24. The car was struck on the drivers side by an eastbound semi truck. The driver of the Malibu, 38-year-old Abby Stous, of Manhattan, was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver, 55-year-old Micheal Lynn Duncan, of Westmoreland sustained a minor injury and was transported by private vehicle to a local hospital. The crash report suggests both drivers were properly restrained.

Three people were injured Thursday in a head on crash near the intersection of Tuttle Creek Blvd. and Seth Child Road. The Riley County Police Department says the crash happened just after 4 p.m. east of the intersection. According to PIO Aaron Wintermote, the crash occurred when an eastbound Ford Focus driven by 16-year-old Helen Curry, of Riley, crossed into the westbound lane and struck a Chevy Equinox driven by 58-year-old Rebecca Slack, of Manhattan. Slack was life-flighted to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka for treatment of lower extremity injuries. Curry and a passenger of the Equinox, 57-year-old Mark Danford,…

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly was in rural Riley County Thursday to proclaim Beef Month, which continues through the end of May. The governor visited the Lyons Ranch, about 13 miles south of Manhattan off of McDowell Creek Road where she spoke about Kansas being recognized for healthy cattle and high quality, nutritious beef. “The Kansas Beef Industry is also well respected worldwide for the people in the Kansas beef community; people who lead the way in research, health, marketing and advocacy. People like the Lyons family. Jan and Frank Lyons and their daughter Amy and son-in-law Carl epitomize that leadership,”…

A Manhattan man has been arrested in connection to a 2020 alleged kidnapping. The Riley County Police Department says 45-year-old Antonio Cooper is jailed on a warrant for charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and two counts each of criminal threat and aggravated assault. Police say the allegations are from a September 19, 2020 incident in the 500 block of North Manhattan Ave. The victim, a 44-year-old woman reported that Cooper forced her into a car, hit her, and threatened her with a gun. Cooper was arrested Wednesday after being extradited from…

Severe weather is a possibility for the region through Saturday. The National Weather Service says a cold front will push through Thursday evening and thunderstorms are expected to develop along a boundary that could move into north central Kansas, which will weaken as they move eastward. The weaker storms will likely continue into Friday morning. It’s anticipated that the hazards would be damaging winds of 60 mph and large hail up to an inch in diameter. Forecasters aren’t as certain about how quickly storms will weaken. A slight (level 2) risk for severe storms is in place for the Manhattan…